Since Childhood He Knew
by SmallNeko
Summary: Since childhood, Ike knew that his brother's life would end like this. Character death.


Lethargic, tired, bleak: those are the words that describe Kyle's physical being as he lay in his death bed. Still a youth, he had been diagnosed with a lethal disease only five months ago. His parents had thought that he wouldn't last a week, but look at him now, still alive, five months later.

What a cruel excuse for parents.

Interminable days passed by, each feeling longer than the last. Kyle's friends stopped by every once in a while, but as his condition worsened, they showed up more frequently, leaving him with their silent promises and tears. He could care less with the state he is in. Sure, he will miss them when he is gone, and they will miss him, but they will all rejoice one day again.

A nurse's heels click the floor as she flits into his room, making sure that he is doing well. "Do you need anything? Are you feeling okay?" She asks. Kyle huffs, replying with a nod. Of course he's not doing well, he's lying on his death bed, for Pete's sake!

The nurse leaves the room to fetch a glass of water for him. He turns on his side and shuts his eyes, wishing the fluorescent lights would darken. His parents have left by now, as it is midnight, and they need some shut eye as well. Kyle tries his hardest to sleep, but finds it hard with the lights on.

A few moments later, the nurse places the glass of water on a small mobile table next to him. She waits patiently for him to drink the water. He hesitantly grabs the glass with his two fragile hands, trying to keep it stable enough to take a sip from. After drinking only half the glass, he sets it back onto the tray. Before the nurse leaves, she asks his brother, who is sitting right next to Kyle's bed, if he wants to come back tomorrow. Ike doesn't respond.

Leaving with the tray, she shuts off the light and closes the hospital room door. Kyle pulls the blankets of the hospital bed over his chest and wheezily whispers to Ike. "You don't need to stay...I'll still be here in the morning."

Glancing down at Kyle, Ike shifts in his seat as brittle words left his mouth. "No...you need someone to watch you at night. I'll stay awake all night and make sure your heart doesn't stop beating..." While closing his eyes, Kyle thinks of pleasant things. He thinks of his friends and all the wonderful memories they made together. Oh how he misses those times of childhood. Right now he just wants to fall asleep, but with his younger brother hovering over him, it feels as though he cannot.

The two sat in silence, listening to the thoughts in their minds and the clicking of the doctors' and nurses' feet on the floor outside the hospital room. Kyle's eyes feel heavy, but he forces them open and lays there thinking. He wonders why his brother insists on staying, but soon remembers the words he said only a moment ago. _"...I'll stay awake all night and make sure your heart doesn't stop beating." _Kyle thought before that he could care less if his friends visited every day, but the fact that his adopted brother cares so much for him just breaks his heart.

Ike cherishes every moment he and his brother have together for fear of loosing him to disease any day of any month. Even when he tries to spend the most time with Kyle, he always rejects Ike, spending more time with the friends that he probably won't have forever.

The constant panic that floods into Ike's mind whenever Kyle blinks makes this whole situation so much harder to watch. Kyle clearly is trying to keep his eyes open, so as not to freak Ike out, and make sure that he'll still be breathing in the morning.

"Kyle..." A whisper emits from Ike, who grabs Kyle's hand and squeezes it reassuringly. Kyle flinches slightly from his touch, but inches closer, wondering what Ike has to say. "Are...are you okay?"

Nodding his head, Kyle felt a tinge of uncertainty at the back of his mind. He feels perfectly fine, but something in the back of his mind is telling him that he isn't doing as well as he thinks. Feeling Ike's hand grasp tighter around his own, Kyle wondered how he ever would have lived without Ike looking up to him all the time.

Kyle knew what it felt like to die. He's experienced that near-death state almost twice is his life, but never has he ever realized just how much he treasured life, even when those experiences ended. He has never realized how beautiful life can be, and now that it's ending, he yearns to stay. The support his parents have been giving him these past months don't compare to the amount of affection Ike has been lending to Kyle his whole entire life. Now look at him, letting Ike down.

A tear rolls down Kyle's cheek as he feels his body relaxed.

He doesn't want to leave. Please no, not now!

Ike goes into a panic. "Kyle! Kyle!" He shouts, pulling Kyle's hand close to his chest. He wants desperately to hear Kyle speak. One last time, please.

His wishes were answered, and a croaky whisper escaped Kyle's mouth. "I...I'm sorry I didn't spend that much time with you. When...when you join me in the future, know that I've always loved you. Not one moment...have I ever really been angry...Never at you..."

Before his brother's eyes went fuzzy and his skin went cold, Ike placed a kiss next to Kyle's eye and leaned over to hug him, tears forming in his eyes. "I love you..." Ike took the hat off Kyle's head, ruffled his hair, and wept. "I'll never forget you..." Setting the hat back on Kyle's head, Ike sat up straight, still clutching his brother's hand for dear life. Ike had always cherished the time he spent with Kyle. He knew since childhood that it would end like this.

**A/N: I'm never writing a character death fic again. Review please. **


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